A life-altering experience

Toronto high school students travel to Kenya to build a school and learn valuable life lessons from people struggling to survive

By Natasha Vaz
October/November 2006

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Mother Teresa rightly said, "Love cannot remain by itself; it has no meaning. Love has to be put into action and that action is service."

Living by these words, 30 Canadian students courageously stepped forward to be involved in a rare learning opportunity that demanded five attributes: fitness, enthusiasm, energetic motivation, acceptance of discomfort and caring for other cultures.

We traveled to Kenya, to the edge of the Masai Mara, Africa's richest game reserve, to provide a meaningful service to the community. Our primary focus was to build a school, in addition to teaching the children, interacting with the community, and learning about development, world issues, leadership, bio-diversity and environmental conservation.

For the Masai peoples of the Mara region and for us, this visit would also allow us to learn about each other.

The trip was a joint project of the Free the Children partner organization Leaders Today and the Toronto Catholic District School Board. It was an opportunity to explore and enhance our leadership skills through meaningful service learning.

We stayed at the Kenya School of the Savannah run by Leaders Today, a youth leadership training organization. Arriving at the centre, the sound of elephants trumpeting in the distance only added to our excitement.

With our first visit to the community, we were shocked by the lack of resources and poor conditions at the school: the dirty floors, rusty tin walls and dust-filled air. Several students shared a few small desks. Yet, every day they brought smiling faces to school, running, playing and never complaining.

I developed a deep respect for these children whom we often saw giggling, smiling, dancing and singing, despite the obstacles they face in their daily lives.

Several incidents moved me. Every morning a group of children would wait for our arrival just to wish us "Jambo" (Hello). On Sunday, a day set aside for Mass, I was amazed to see the community rejoicing and thanking God for the little they have and hoping that they will see better days ahead. They have so much faith even in the most difficult times.

This trip has had a lasting effect on the way I view the world and how I live my life. My life is focused more outwardly towards others, rather than inwardly on myself. I am now more determined to dedicate my life to helping those who struggle to survive each day.

After seeing how the children in Kenya lack basic necessities, I have learned to value everything that I have. The contrast between their lives and mine was so stark that it is difficult to understand how such opposites exist on the same planet. Why is it that our society has so much when millions of people are suffering, starving and staring into the face of death every day of their lives? Something is definitely happening in nations throughout the world that we in developed countries need to be aware of and to question.

Ultimately, each of the participants left Kenya with a different perspective on life, which is the greatest gift Kenya could have given us. We went on this overseas volunteer experience to serve, but in the end, we were the ones forever changed.

Natasha Vaz is a Grade 11 student at Cardinal Newman Catholic High School in Toronto. She and her twin sister Trisha work part-time at Scarboro Missions in the kitchen.

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